February 2017 Newsletter
Hi all,
This month the newsletter is a bit late because I’ve been working on a new format for it. The previous format had me talking about a lot of different things, and while that may be well and good, it was a lot to wade through. Hopefully this new format is more readable while still providing some interesting information.
What I’m working on
Rift Walker is in the throws of being edited. And boy does it need it! If you got a copy of it from me in it’s full form, I’m sorry for the bleeding eyes. Lots of misspellings, characterization needs a lot of work and there are a lot of scenes in there which just need to be cut. Also, I’ve noticed a number of inconsistancies. For example, I’ll introduce a character and then a couple scenes later introduce them again. Ouch! And that’s not even talking about the ebb and flow of what a plot should look like, along with increasing tension and complications.
Still, the bones are there for a story that could be good, but this will take some work and I’m getting through an average of 1 scene a day. It’s progressing and I think reading the Story Grid before hand has really helped me identify what is needed in order to make this a story that really shines. It’s just going to take some work to get there. It makes me realize why Brandon Sanderson takes 5 or more drafts to get a good book out.
At the beginning of the year my brother-in-law was approached by his boss and asked if he was interested in buying the company. In an effort to help him, my dad and I took a look at the company and what things would need to happen so it could be successful. Over the last two months I’ve been working with people on fiverr on making custom jewlery, testing the waters to see how hard it would be replace that function when the boss leaves. Getting something like jewlery right using just words is not easy! Still, I think we came up with a decent result.
Interesting Things
In his book, Managing Oneself, Peter Drucker talks about Feedback Analysis. Looks like an interesting concept, but there isn’t much out there that I’ve been able to find on it. I’m interested in learning more about it to see if it is something that can be incorporated into my self-improvement efforts.
I’ve recently backed Wearing the Cape: The RPG. It’s based on the Fate RPG system, which is an open and Creative Common’s licensed product. I think its a good choice for the game system, even if the dice are a bit funny. Of course this comes from somebody who has the Star Wars RPG dice and a bag of other dice too. I’m mostly interested in the WTC:RPG because the last Superhero RPG I read (Mutants and Masterminds) gave me a ton of ideas for super-powered characters for stories and the villians who oppose them. I just don’t see a lot of interestng superhero books out there and would like to see more…so write what you want to read! Right?
My first book was a superhero novel which I wrote for a nanowrimo over 10 years ago and it is based on characters and story concepts some friends and I came up with in high school. At some point I want to revisit it and make it a good story as well. But, baby steps. First: Rift Walker.
That’s it for this month. Let me know what you think of the new format. I’d love to hear what you think of the change and what you think could be better or what you would like to see more of.
Dave
Comments